Drop-bottom shipping container



March 7, 1961 ELGAARD DROP-BOTTOM SHIPPING CONTAINER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed March 9, 1959 FIG.|.

INVENTOR LAURITZ ELGAARD ATTORNEY L. ELGAARD DROP-BOTTOM SHIPPINGCONTAINER March 7, 1961 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 9, 1959 INVENTORLAURITZ ELGAARD ATTORNEY March 7, 1961 ELGAARD 2,973,886

DROP-BOTTOM SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed March 9, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR LAURITZ ELGAARD ATTORNEY March 7, 1961 ELGAARD 2,973,886

DROP-BOTTOM SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed March 9, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4INVENTOR 7 LAURITZ ELGAARD ATTORNEY f Fig. .Fig. 1.

Fig. 2.

United States Patent'O 2,973,886 DROP-BOTTOM SHIPPING CONTAINER LauritzElgaard, Malverne, N.Y., assignor to Allied Chemical Corporation, NewYork, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 9, 1959, Ser. No.798,183

4 Claims. (Cl. 222-556) This invention relates to shipping containersand more specifically to a drop-bottom shipping container for bulkmaterials provided with a locking device for locking and releasing thebottom dump door of the container.

In accordance with the invention, a drop-bottom shipping or transportingcontainer has a bottom discharge opening, a hinged door for thedischarge opening, and a locking assembly mounted on the containeradjacent the free end of the door adapted to receive and support thefree end and lock the same in closed position upon closure of the doorand to effect release of the door end at will to permit the door toswing downwardly to open and discharge position, the locking assemblycomprising a vertical pivoted locking member providing a pair of spacedjaws positioned and adapted to efiect rotation of the member and toreceive and support respectively the door end as the latter in upwardmovement approaches and reaches closed position, the locking memberhaving an upwardly extending arm subject to movement through apredetermined arc between extreme positions at which the door end issupported and released respectively by the jaws, a lock arm mounted atone end on a fixed pivot to extend toward the locking member arm, aroller carried by the lock arm for engaging the periphery of the lockingmember arm, the lock arm being positioned and adapted to maintain theengagement of its roller with the periphery of the locking member armthroughout movement of the locking member arm through the arc, spacedrecesses in the periphery of the locking member arm adapted and arrangedto receive the roller at the aforesaid extreme positions, spring meansattached to the lock arm arranged and attached to maintain theengagement of the lock arm roller with the periphery of the lockingmember arm under pressure at all times, the recess at the extremeposition of the locking member arm for supporting the door end being astep of depth greater than the radius of the lock arm roller forinsuring re- ,ceipt of the rollertherein to lock the locking member farmagainst motion through the arc, and release means .vent travel of thelocking member arm therebeyond and .to 'resist' but permit initiation ofreverse movement of the locking member arm upon closure of the door.

1 In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation partly in section of the shipping containerof the instant invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 4 is a verticalsection taken on line 44 of Fig. 5 is a vertical section similar to Fig.4 showing idle-relationship between the parts of the locking device ICC2 when such locking device permits opening movement of the dump door.

Fig. 6 is a section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section talcen on line 7-7 of taken on line 8-8of container 15 comprises side walls 16 and 17 and end walls 18 and 19.The container is adapted for use on railroad freight cars, trucks orother vehicles for transportation of bulk materials, e.g. coke, coal,ore or the like. Lifting hooks 20 and 21 are provided at the top ofcontainer 15 for lifting the same by means of chains or cables andsuitable hoisting mechanism. The base of the container is formed bygenerally channel shaped side and end members 22 and 23 and 24 and 25respectively. As shown, the container is rectangular in shape and has afilling opening at its top and a discharge opening at its bottom, suchdischarge opening being adapted to be closed by hinged dump door 26preferably provided with reinforcing corrugations 27. Reinforcing barsfor the side and end walls of the container as shown at 28, 29, 30, 31,32, 33, 34 and 35. Inwardly directed slope sheets 37, 38, 39 and 40 areprovided at the sides and ends of the container for directing or guidingthe material within'thecontainer toward the discharge opening. The slopesheets are provided with vertical flanges 41, 42,, 43 and ,44 inalinement with the respective downwardly extending flanges of thegenerally channel-shaped base members, the slope sheet vertical flangesbeing secured by welding to the base members as is clearly shown in Fig.3.

Referring to Figs. 1-3, door 26 is constructed of corrugated plates 45and 46 joined together by means of a suitable reinforcing member (notshown). Channelshaped marginal reinforcing members 48 and 49 and 50 and51 are provided at the ends and sides of the door respectively.Projection 52 is secured to the swinging or free end of door 26 by meansof anchoring member 53 integral therewith, member 53 extending throughan opening in channel member 50 and being secured thereto by welding.Pipe 54 is aflixed to the lower portion of the swinging end of door 26to facilitate sliding of the door end on the ground or freight car floorwhen the door is open. Door 26 is hinged to one side of the container bymeans of hinges 54, 55, 56 and 57, each hinge comprising hinge plates 58and 59. As more clearly shown in Figs. 9 and 10, each hinge is aflixedto the end of the door by welding and is mounted on hinge pin 60 bymeans of the opening of eyelet 61 which provides support for the door.To cushion the opening movement of the door,

plate 62 extends between and is secured as by welding to each of thepairs of hinge plates 58 and 59, rubber bumper 63 being afiixed to plate62 by means of bolt 64 embedded or secured in the inner portion of theto. Spacer pins 68a and 113 extend between and are secured to sideplates 66 and 67 to maintain the plates the desired distance apart.Locking member or bell crank 69 having an upwardly extending arm ispivotally mounted on horizontal pin 70 extending between and secured tolower portions of side plates 66 and 67. Nut 71 is on the threaded endof pin 70 and washer 72 is disposed between side plate 67 and nut 71.The locking of latch member has spaced lower and upper jaws 73 and 74respectively in a lower portion thereof, and two spaced recesses ordepressions 75 and 76 each having concave surfaces in an upper portionthereof, depression 76 being located more outwardly of the containerthan depression 75. Inner depression 75 has depth greater than theradius of roller 88 of -forked lock arm 83, and outer depression 76 hasdepth less than the radius of roller 38 for the reasons aforementioned.

Rocker member 77 having long arm 78 and short arm 79 is pivotallymounted on horizontal pin 80 extending between and secured to upperportions of side plates 66 and 67, pin 80 having nut 81 on a threadedend thereof and washer 82 between side plate 67 and nut 81. Forked lockarm 83 is pivotally mounted on horizontal pin 84 extending between andsecured to portions of side plates 66 and 67 intermediate the places ofsecuring of pins 70 and 80. Pin 84 is provided with nut 85 on itsthreaded end and washer 86 is between side plate 67 and nut 85. Roller88 is carried by forked arm 83 for engaging depression 75 of lockingmember 69 for maintaining locking member 69 in locking engagement withdoor 26. Such engagement of roller 88 with depression 75 of the lockingmember is shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and in more detail in Figs. 6 and 7.Roller 88 is mounted on pin 89 extending between arm members 90 and 91of forked arm 83.

Link 94 connects rocker member 77 and forked arm 83 carrying roller 88.Link 94 is connected to rocker member 77 by means of pin 97 having nuts92 and 96 on its threaded opposite ends, pin 97 being inserted throughregistering openings in short arm 79 of rocker member 77 and link 94.Link 94 is also connected to forked arm 83 carrying roller 88 by meansof pin 89 inserted through another opening in link 94, cotter pin 93being inserted through an opening in pin 89 for retention of link 94 andalso spring 99 on pin 89. Coil spring 95 is attached to link 94 andhousing cover plate 68. -As show'ninFigs. 3 and 4, spring 95 urges link94 in a direction outwardly of the container thereby biasing roller 88of forked arm 83 into engagement with depression 75 of locking member69. A second coil spring 99 is attached to pin 89 of forked lock arm 83'and to housing side plate 67 by means of bolt 100 having nut 101.Spring 99 urges roller 88 of forked arm 83 in 'a direction downwardly ofthe container thereby assisting the other spring 95 in maintainingroller 88 in engagement with depression 75 of locking member 69.

Circular opening 102 formed in cover plate 68 is covered byfrnsto-conical member 103 welded to cover plate 68-, frustrorconicalmember 103 having smaller diameter circular opening 104 in the inner endthereof. Chain 105 extends through opening 102 and opening 104 and isfastened to long arm 78 of rocker member 77. Chain 105 is provided withlarge diameter ring 106 for manually or otherwise applying a pull uponthe chain which imparts swinging movement to rocker member 77.

Bolts 108 are inserted through registering small diameter openings inhousing cover plate 68 and container side wall 16 for'secnring orattaching cover "plate 68 and hence the locking device securely to thecontainer. As shown, bolts 108 are flat headed screws having nuts 109 ontheir inner threaded end portions. By removal of the bolts, the lockingdevice can be removed or lifted from the container as a complete andindividual unit which facilitates it's repair, assembly, installationand removal.

The locking device is installed in container 15 by first moving orturning the locking device in a counterclockwise direction a sumcientdistance to provide for clearance between notch or cut out 110 inhousing side plates 66 and 67 and stop bar 111 welded to the top ofchannel member 22. When such clearance is accomplished, the lockingdevice is moved in a clockwise direction and inserted into the lowerside portion of the container until housing cover plate 68 issubstantially parallel to and abuts side wall 16 of the container. Coverplate 68 is then moved or oriented until its marginal perforations forthe bolts register with the perforations of side Wall 16. Bolts are theninserted in the registered perforations and nuts are screwed on theinner threaded ends of the bolts to attach cover plate 68 and thelocking device securely to the container. Bottom dump door 26 is in anopen position during installation of the locking device. In removing thelocking device from the container, the nuts are unscrewed from the boltsand the bolts then removed from the container wall and housing coverplate. With dump door 26 in an opened position, the locking device isremoved from the container by moving the device in a counterclockwisedirection a sufficient distance to provide clearance between cut out 110in side plates 66 and 67 and stop bar 111 to enable the locking deviceto be lifted out of the container. Such removal is easily accomplishedand is advantageous for the reasons stated. A cover or housing toprotect the locking device from the container contents is provided overthe locking device by plate 112 welded both to container side wall 16and vertical flange 43 of slope sheet 38.

To open or release the door to discharge the contents of the container,an outward pull is given to chain 105 with the aid of ring 106 therebyimparting swinging movement to rocker member 77 and to link 94 againstthe action of spring 95 and to forked arm 83 carrying roller 88 againsttheact'ion of spring 99. Roller 88 is lifted and disengaged fromdepression of locking member 69 by reason of such swinging movementthereby permitting locking member 69 to swing or turn in a clockwisedirection. The weight of the contents of the container and of the door26 at this time cause locking member 69 to swing in a clockwisedirection so that the swinging or non-hinged end of the door is releasedfrom between lower and upper jaws 73 and 74 respectively of the lockingmember, and the door opens. The relationship between the constituentparts of the locking device after the door has been opened or releasedis clearly shown in Fig. 5. During clockwise swinging movement oflocking member 69, roller 88 disengaged from inner recess or depression75 is moved into engagement with outer recess or depression 76 of thelocking member and maintained in depression 76 by the biasing action ofspring 99, thereby maintaining locking member in the slanting positionshown in Fig. 5 with lower and upper jaws 73 and 74 respectively in areceptive position for engaging the swinging end of door 26 duringclosing movement of the door. As shown in Fig. 10, door 26 when openhangs at an angle of approximately 45 to the bottom of the container,its opening movement being cushioned by rubber stop 63.

When the container with door 26 open is lowered toward the ground orbottom of the railroad car, the lower edge of door 26 is rnove'dupw'a'rdly after making contact and projection 52 integral with theswinging "end of door 26 engages upper jaw 74 'of locking member 69 andcauses this locking member to be swung or returned in a counterclockwisedirection to its former position. Roller 88 is thereby moved out ofouter depression 76 of locking member 69 and drops in place and engagesinne'r depression 75 of locking member 69 and maintains the lockingmember in locking engagement with door 26.

Link 94 and forked arm 83 carrying roller 88 under the influence ofsprings and 99 cooperate inm'aintaining .5 roller 88 in depression 75.Closing and locking of the door is then completed.

Although certain preferred embodiments of the invention have beendisclosed for purpose of illustration, it will be evident that variouschanges and modifications may be made therein without departing from thescope and spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

l. A container for transporting bulk material providing a bottomdischarge opening, a hinged door for said opening, and a lockingassembly mounted on said container adjacent the free end of said dooradapted to receive and support said free end and lock the same in closedposition upon closure of said door and to effect release of said doorend at will to permit said door to swing downwardly to'open anddischarge position, said locking assembly comprising a vertical pivotedlocking member providing a pair of spaced jaws positioned and adapted toeffect rotation of said member and to receive and support respectivelysaid door end as the latter in upward movement approaches and reachesclosed position, said locking member having an upwardly extending armsubject to movement through a predetermined are between extremepositions at which said door end is supported and released respectivelyby said jaws, a lock arm mounted at one end on a fixed pivot to extendtoward said locking member, a roller carried by the look farm forengaging the periphery of said locking member arm, said lock arm beingpositioned and adapted to maintain said engagement of its roller withthe periphery of the locking member arm throughout movement of said,locking member arm through said are, spaced recesses inthe periphery ofsaid.locking member arm jadaptedand arranged to receive said lock armroller at the aforesaid extreme positions, spring means attached to saidlock arm arranged and adapted to maintain said engagement of the lockarm roller with the periphery of the locking member arm under pressureat all times,

the recess at the extreme position of said locking member arm forsupporting said door end being a step of depth greater than the radiusof said lock arm roller for insuring receipt of the lock arm rollertherein to lock the locking member arm against motion through said arc,and release means connected to said lock arm for lifting said lock armroller out of said step thereby permitting rotation of said lockingmember armby said door end, the recess at said other extreme positionbeing of depth substantially. less than the radius of said lock ,arrnroller and adapted to prevent travel of said locking member armtherebeyond and to resist but permit initiation of reverse movement ofthe locking member arm upon closure of said door.

2. A container for transporting bulk material providing a bottomdischarge opening, a dump door hinged to the container for closing thedischarge opening and supporting the container contents when in closedposition, and a locking assembly mounted on said'container adjacent thefree end of said door adapted to receive and support said free end andlock the same in closed position upon closure of said door and to effectrelease of said door end at will to permit said door to swing downwardlyto open and discharge position, said locking assembly comprising ahousing including spaced vertical side plates and a vertical cover platejoining outer edges of the side plates, a vertical pivoted lockingmember having a pair of spaced upper and lower jaws positioned andadapted to effect rotation of said member and to receive and supportrespectively said door end as the latter in upward movement approachesand reaches closed position, said looking member having an upwardlyextending arm subject to movement through a predetermined are betweenextreme positions at which said door end is supported and releasedrespectively by said jaws, a rocker member pivotally mounted on saidside plates, a lock arm pivotally mounted at one end on the side platesto extend toward said locking member arm, a roller carried by the locksaid locking member arm through said are, a link connecting the rockermember and the swinging end of the lock arm, spaced recesses in theperiphery of said locking member arm adapted and arranged to receivesaid lock arm roller at the aforesaid extreme positions, spring meansattached to said lock arm arranged and adapted to maintain saidengagement of the lock arm roller with the periphery of the lockingmember arm under pressure at all times, the recess at the extremeposition of said locking member arm for supporting said door end being astep of depth greater than the radius of said lock arm roller forinsuring receipt of the lock arm roller therein to lock the latch armagainst motion through said are, an opening in said cover platecommunicating the interior of the housing with the exterior ofithecontainer, and release means accessible external of the containerfastened to the rocker member for lifting said lock arm roller out ofsaid step thereby permitting rotation of said locking member arm by saiddoor end, the recess at the other extreme position being of depthsubstantially less than the radius of said lock arm roller and adaptedto prevent travel of said locking member arm therebeyond and to resistbut permit initiation of reverse movement of the locking member arm uponclosure of said door.

3. A container for transporting bulk material having a top fillingopening and a bottom discharge opening, a

dump door hinged to one side of the container for closing thedischargeo'pening and supporting the container contents when inclosed'position, a locking .device fastenedto the container adjacent thefree end of the door for locking and releasing the bottom dump door,said locking :device comprising a housing including spaced vertical sideplates and a vertical cover plate joining outer edges of the sideplates, a vertical bell crank for the door pivotally mounted on lowerportions of the side plates, said bell crank having a pair of spacedupper and lower ja-ws in a lower portion thereof and two spaceddepressions in .an upper portion thereof, one of said depressions beinglocated more outwardly of the container than the other,

a rocker member pivotally mounted on upper portions of the side plates,a forked lock arm pivotally mounted on one end to portions of the sideplates intermediate and inwardly of the places where .said bell crankand said rocker member are mounted, a r'oller'carriedby said forked lockarm for engaging the inner depression of the bell crank and maintainingthe bell crank in locking engagement with the door when in closedposition, said inner depression having depth greater than the radius ofthe roller, a link connecting the rocker member and the swinging end ofthe forked arm, a first spring attached to said link and to said housingcover plate, said firstl spring urging the link in a direction outwardlyof the container thereby biasing the forked arm roller into engagementwith the inner depression of the bell crank, a second spring attached tosaid forked arm carrying the roller and to the housing side plate, saidsecond spring urging the forked arm carrying the roller in a directiondownwardly of the container thereby assisting said first spring inmaintaining the roller in engagement with said I am ss the door, thedisengaged roller moving into engagement with said outer depression ofthe bell crank as a result of the locking member movement, said outerdepression having dep'th less than the radius of the roller to resistbut permit initiation of counterclockwise movement of the bell crankupon closure of the door, the bell crank being moved into a position bythe opening door movement wherein its spaced upper and lower jaws are inareceptive position for engaging a swinging end of the door diiringclosing movement of the door, the bell crank being maintained in thelast-mentioned position by means of the forked ar' m roller being biasedinto engagement with the outer depression of the locking member by saidsecond spring, and fastening means removably inserted through thehousing cover plate and the container side wall for attaching thelocking device securely to the container, said locking device beingremovable from the container as a complete unit when 'said fasteningmeans are removed from the container side wall.

4. A container for transporting bulk material having a top fillingopening and a bottom discharge opening, a dump door hinged to one sideof the container for closing the discharge opening and supporting thecontainer contents when in closed position, a locking device fastened tothe container adjacent the free end of the door for locking andreleasing the bottom dump door, said locking device comprising a housingincluding spaced, vertical side plates and a vertical cover platejoining outer edges of the side plates, a first pin extending betweenand secured to lower portions of the side plates, a vertical bell crankfor the door pivotally mounted on said first pin, said bell crank havinga pair of spaced upper and lower jaws in a lower portion thereof and twospaced depressions each having cohcave surfaces in an upper portionthereof, one of said depressions being located more outwardly of thecontainer than the other, 'a second pin extending between and secured toupper portions of the side plates, a rocker member having a longer armand a shorter arm pivotally mounted on said second pin, a third pinextending between and secured to portions of the side platesintermediate and inwardly of the places where said first and second pinsare secured, a forked lock arm pivotally mounted on one end on saidthird pin, a roller carried by said forked lock arm for engaging theinner depression of the bell crank and maintaining the bell crank inlocking engagement with the door when in closed position, said innerdepression having depth greater than the radius of the roller, a linkconnecting the shorter arm of the rocker member and the swinging end ofthe forked arm, a first spring attached to said link and to said housingcover plate, said first spring urging the link in a direction outwardlyof the container thereby biasing the forked arm roller into engagementwith the inner depression of the bell crank, a second spring attached tasaid forked arm carrying the roller and to the hotisirig side plate,said second spring urging the forked arm carrying the roller in adirection downwardly of the container thereby a'ssi'stin'g said firstspring in maintaining the roller in engagement with 'said innerdepression of the bell crank, an opening in said cover platecommunicating the interior of the housing with the exterior of thecontainer, and a chain accessible external of the container extendingthrough said opening and fastened to the longer arm of the rocker memberfor imparting swinging movement to the rocker member and thereby to thelink and to the forked arm carrying the roller against the action ofsaid first and second springs to lift and disengage the roller from theinner depression of the bell crank thereby permitting clockwise movementof the bell crank and opening movement of the door, the disengagedroller moving into engagement with said outer depression of the bellcrank as a result of the locking member movement, said outer de pressionhaving depth less than the radius of the roller to resist but permitinitiation of counterclockwise movement of the bell crank upon closureof the door, the bell crank being moved into a position by the openingdoor movement wherein itssp'aced upper and lower jaws are in a receptiveposition for engaging a projection at the swinging end of the doorduring closing movement of the door, the bell crank being maintained inthe last-mentioned position by means of the forked arm roller beingbiased into engagement with the outer depression of the locking memberby said second spring, and bolts removably inserted through the housingcover plate and the contain'er side wall for attaching the lockingdevice securely to the container, said locking device beingremovabl'efrdrn the container as a complete unit when said bolts areremoved from the container side wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,697,002 Iohan'sson Dec. '14, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 489,821 Germany tDec. 23, 1927

